Very interesting beginning. You don't see a lot of time travel stories that involve Jaina. The action is a great reader grab. I'll definatly be keeping up with this one. Can't wait to see how Anakin and Obi-Wan react.

A ripple in the Force warned of the incoming detonator with a second to spare.

"Get down!"

Throwing himself forward even as he shouted a warning, Anakin Skywalker fell into a diving roll, letting the Force carry him further than his body's momentum would have on its own.

Instinct told him to stay low to the ground.

A shrill wail filled the air as the detonator erupted, sending a wave of fire, heat and flame careening across the battlefield, swallowing up everything in its path.

The explosion rang in his ears and molten debris from the Republic hovertanks that had been caught in the blast rained down upon him, hot embers dusting across the Jedi robe which protected his back from the heat and catching on the dark material.

Rolling onto his back, Anakin smothered out the searing embers before they could inflame.

"Skywalker?" a familiar voice called.

"Still in one piece, Master Secura," Anakin assured her, pushing to his feet as the Twi'lek Jedi emerged from the smoke billowing from the skeleton of what was once a hovertank. She was favoring her right leg, he noticed the moment he laid eyes on her, but there wasn't any visible sign of injury so he assumed she'd just twisted it during the explosion. "How about you?"

"I'll survive," she replied, eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the enemy droids.

"How many did we lose?" Anakin asked her, glancing somberly at the charred shell of blackened armor about a dozen yards away.

"Everyone in the hovertanks," Aayla answered grimly. "Bly is regrouping the ground forces."

So, Bly had survived, that was a relief.

During the long, relentless months of war, it had become common for the Jedi commanders and generals to develop battlefield partnerships with a handful of the clonetroopers regularly assigned to their command, and Anakin knew that Aayla and Bly had been working together for quite a while now.

Reaching out with his senses, Anakin probed the area for any hint of danger. There wasn't much point in trying to sense the droids themselves in the Force, but when there were that many battledroids grouped together, all intent on killing you, it wasn't hard to get a general read on the situation.

"And keeping their weapons trained on us in case we try to follow, no doubt," Aayla sighed, reaching for the comm-link on her belt. "Kit?"

There was a burst of static, and then the voice of Kit Fisto crackled in the air.

"Aayla, we heard the explosion," Kit said without preamble.

"We lost about three dozen clones," Aayla told him, sensing the unspoken question. "But our ground troops are still mostly in tact."

"And you are uninjured?"

"I'm fine," Aayla assured her old friend, a faint trace of a smile gracing her lips. "And you can tell Obi-Wan not to worry, I'm taking good care of his former Padawan- or rather, Anakin is taking good care of me."

Despite himself, Anakin's lips twitched upward even as he rolled his eyes.

It had been nearly five months since his Knighting after Praestilyn, but one wouldn't know that the way that Obi-Wan carried on sometimes. His former Master had relaxed some since then, and was even making an effort to view him as an equal and fellow Jedi instead of the apprentice he'd raised from childhood, but at times Anakin wondered if the man would ever be willing, or prepared, to completely let him go.

A Master's job doesn't end when he cuts the Padawan braid, Obi-Wan was found of spouting irritably these days. You don't have enough sense of self-preservation to worry for yourself, so someone's got to do it.

Anakin refrained from admitting that someone else was worrying about him enough for them both.

It didn't matter that he half-suspected that Obi-Wan was aware of his invol

Now that he was out on his own, it seemed that Obi-Wan was relaxing a little and Anakin had high hopes for him yet.

Maybe one day, he'd even sleep without his lightsaber under his pillow. LOL!

Great look at the Clone Wars, and I'm asusming Anakin felt his grandkids arriving in the past? That was a great description of the feeling.

Ben looked around suspiciously, as if he expected a band of Yuuzhan Vong to jump out at them from behind the ruins at any moment, and it made Jaina's heart ache. He'd been born into the war, into the slow death of the galaxy, it was all he'd ever known.

To Ben, there had never been a time when they weren't running from the Vong.

He's the real reason for this, Jaina thought sadly, touching a hand to his reddish gold hair tenderly as she indulged in a bit of wistfulness. So that he can grow up in a better galaxy than the one we left behind.

Better than the one that had claimed the lives of their entire family.

They come from such a horrible future, this section was just heartbreaking, it showed what a bleak life they've had, and it made my heart break for them both

Great post Ben is so cute, it's so sad his whole life has been about war and the Vong Somehow I think the arrival of the grandkids is going to give Anakin a heart-attack... not to mention throw his secret marriage out in the open

Excellent post. The Clone Wars are still raging, and it was a nice touch to see a glimpse of the fighting, especially with our favorite Jedi in the midst of the fray. It should be interesting when Skywalker Sr. meets the next generation of his family.

This gets betters with each post Jaina and Ben have had such a hard life, I feel so bad for them! But Anakin is his usual self, I snickered at the unspoken 'Anakin' at the end of Obi's "don't go looking for a fight" mantra, lol He knows his former apprentice too well

It looks like Jaina's mission isn't just going to be to prepare the galaxy for the Vong invasion coming a few decades from now, but to save her family as well. Makes me wonder how she's going to fill Anakin in on the bleak future that was awaiting him- ouch, what a blow to strike, he he.

Somewhere, systems away, something was shifting.
The Force twisted, bent, convulsed around something abnormal, as if trying to expel it.
For a long moment, stars stretched beyond their limit, space expanded, and he felt himself being pulled outward and along with the rest of the galaxy as the current changed.
And then everything snapped back into place, as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.
That had to be really bizarre for Anakin. I like the description though. I can't be really sure yet, but it seems fitting because hopefully everything is about to change although nothing has changed yet.

Its probably a big weight for Jaina to know she has to change the future, but having to take care of a five-year old at the same time cannot make it any easier. She couldn't have left Ben behind though. And if anything it looks like he'll be a constant reminder of why this has to be done.

Oh, and I agree that there is something missing in the Skywalker genes that makes them forget to watch out for themselves sometimes.

Most nights, she went into a Jedi trance instead of sleeping, so that the screams would not linger in her ears.

That sent shivers up and down my spine. Such a short detail, and yet it revealed so much about Jaina and the circumstances she and Ben are in. She's a hardened young woman, similar to Leia in the OT, but far more battle-weary and bitter. I can't say for sure yet, but I doubt her first meeting with her grandfather will be the most pleasant affair. She's going back in time to save the future and her family, and she means business.

As for Anakin and Obi-Wan and all the other characters so far, I must say the characterizations and dialogue are right on. Anakin is my favorite character, and if you've nailed his characterization, then you've won my respect and praise. (Okay, so I'm not always that shallow, but hey, writing Anakin well definately helps. )

Bringing us right into the action in the Clone Wars was perfect. It keeps right with the Star Wars tradition of beginning in the middle of the action. I love it, I love it, I love it!

Wow, what a post The opening bit with the wars was great, you write Anakin very well, and I snickered at the fact that no Skywalker has self-preservation skills But it was the part w/ Jaina and Ben that really tugged at my heart... they've been through so much, poor things